K2 - 

1 

CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS 

OF THE 

WOMEN’S AUXILIARY of 

The AMERICAN LEGION 

th } 



Kansas 

Department 


As adopted by the first annual depart¬ 
ment convention 

Newton, Kan., Jan. 10-11, 1921 


PRINTED BT KANSAS STATE PKESTTESTG PLANT 
IMRI ZUMWABT, STATE PRINTER 
TOPEKA 19 31 

8-5983 















CONSTITUTION. 


PREAMBLE. 


For God and Country we associate our¬ 
selves together for the following purposes: 

To uphold and defend the Constitution 
of the United States of America and the 
Constitution of the State of Kansas; to 
maintain law and order; to foster and per¬ 
petuate a one hundred per cent American¬ 
ism ; to preserve the memories and incidents 
of our association in the Great War; to in¬ 
culcate a sense of individual obligation to 
the community, state and nation; to combat 
the autocracy of both the classes and the 
masses; to make right the master of might; 
to promote peace and good will on earth; 
to safeguard and transmit to posterity the 
principles of justice, freedom and democr 
racy; to consecrate and sanctify our com¬ 
radeship by our devotion to mutual helpful¬ 
ness. 

ARTICLE I. —Objects. 

The objects of the Women’s Auxiliary of 
The American Legion shall be the same as 
those expressed in the constitution of The 
American Legion. 

ARTICLE II.— Name. 

The name of this organization shall be 
the Women’s Auxiliary of The American 
Legion, and each local auxiliary unit shall 
be known as the Women’s Auxiliary Unit of 
- Post, No. -, The American Le¬ 
gion, Department of Kansas. 

ARTICLE III. —Eligibility. 


Membership in the Auxiliary shall be 
limited to t hft.n f H)theyo, wi i v c gr ? ’ < d Tragh t g CT» ia nd 


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"^.^gCElYED 

AU'dl *1921 








ofthe members of The American 
Legion, and to the mothers, wives, daugh¬ 
ters and sisters of all men and women who 
were^n the military or naval service of the 
United States at any time between April 
6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who 
died in line of duty or after honorable dis¬ 
charge and prior to November 11, 1920. 

ARTICLE IV.— Nature. 

The Women’s Auxiliary of The American 
Legion shall be absolutely nonpolitical, and 
shall not be used for the dissemination of 
partisan principles, nor for the promotion 
of the candidacy of any person seeking pub¬ 
lic office or preferment. No candidate for 
or incumbent of a salaried elective public 
office shall hold any office in the Women’s 
Auxiliary of The American Legion. 

ARTICLE V.—Charters. 

Section 1. Those who desire to form an 
auxiliary unit shall make application for 
a charter to the commander of the depart¬ 
ment in which they reside: Provided, how¬ 
ever, That the application must first be duly 
approved by the post to which it is to be 
attached. The charter will be issued by the 
national commander and national adjutant, 
upon receipt of the application properly 
executed, and approved by the commander 
of the department or of the department ex¬ 
ecutive committee. 

Sec. 2. The charters when granted shall 
remain in force until a permanent organi¬ 
zation is formed. 

Sec. 3. The minimum membership of the 
auxiliary unit shall be ten. 

ARTICLE VI.— Officers. 

Section 1. Each auxiliary unit shall elect 
a president, vice president, secretary and 


sistefs 


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treasurer, also a financial secretary, if one 
is needed. 

Sec. 2. Each auxiliary unit shall have an 
executive committee of at least three mem¬ 
bers, and the auxiliary officers shall be mem¬ 
bers thereof, ex officio. 

ARTICLE VII.— Finance. 

Section 1. The revenues nf the several 
auxiliary units shall be derived from dues 
and such other sources as may be. de¬ 
termined by each auxiliary unit: Provided, 
however, That each auxiliary unit shall pay 
to the national treasurer of The American 
Legion twenty-five cents for each member 
as national annual dties. 

Sec. 2. The amount of department dues 
shall be fifty cents for each member, and the 
amount of unit dues shall be decided by «each 
unit. 

ARTICLE VIII.— Powers. 

Each auxiliary unit shall be subject to 
such regulations as the national executive 
committee or department executive com¬ 
mittee may provide. 

ARTICLE IX.—Administration. 

Section 1. The legislative body of the 
organization shall be a department conven¬ 
tion, to be held annually, at a place and time 
to be fixed by vote of the preceding conven¬ 
tion, or in the event that the preceding con¬ 
vention does not fix a time and place, it shall 
be fixed by an executive committee herein¬ 
after provided for. 

Sec. 2. The annual convention shall be 
composed of delegates from each unit. Each 
unit shall have representation at the annual 
department convention on the basis of three 
delegates from each unit and one additional 


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delegate for each fifty members or major 
fraction thereof. Each unit represented at 
the department convention is entitled to 
.cast the full vote of the delegates present. 

Sec. 3. The delegates to the department 
convention shall be chosen by each unit in 
the manner herein prescribed. 

Sec. 4. The executive power shall be 
vested in a department executive committee, 
to be composed of two department com¬ 
mitteemen at large, two representatives 
from each congressional district, elected first 
for one year and two years, respectively, 
and hereafter for two years, and in addi¬ 
tion thereto the following are ex officio 
members: The department president, the 
department vice president, the department 
secretary, the department chaplain, and the 
department sergeant-at-arms. 

ARTICLE X.—Quorum. 

A quorum shall exist at a department con¬ 
vention when a majority of the units are 
represented in whole or in part. 

ARTICLE XI. —Amendments. 

This constitution, or any part thereof, 
may be amended at any department con¬ 
vention by a two-thirds vote: Provided , 
That such proposed amendment has the au¬ 
thority of a local unit* and has been trans¬ 
mitted by the department secretary to every 
local unit at least sixty (60) days before 
said department convention. This constitu¬ 
tion and the department by-laws shall also 
be automatically amended to conform to any 
amendment of the national constitution, 
when such shall be formed. 



BY-LAWS. 

ARTICLE I. 

The personnel of the department organi¬ 
zation shall be as follows: President, vice 
president, secretary, treasurer, chaplain, 
sergeant-at-arms, and the executive com¬ 
mittee. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section 1. The department officers of the 
Women’s Auxiliary of The American Legion 
shall be elected annually. Nominations shall 
be made from the floor and the voting shall 
be by ballot. A majority vote shall be neces¬ 
sary for election: Provided, however, That 
the secretary and the treasurer shall be 
selected by the state executive committee. 

Sec. 2. They shall enter upon the duties 
of their respective offices immediately upon 
election and shall hold office until their suc¬ 
cessors are installed. The secretary shall 
conduct her duties at the permanent head¬ 
quarters in Topeka, Kan. 

Sec. 3. Vacancies occurring in any of 
the elective offices of the Kansas department 
shall be filled by the department executive 
committee. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of the 
president to preside at all meetings of the 
department - in convention assembled, and 
the department executive committee to en¬ 
force a strict observance of the constitution 
and by-laws, and perform such other duties 
as custom and parliamentary usage requires, 
and to appoint all officers on committees, 
not otherwise provided for. 

Sec. 2. The vice president shall, when 
called upon, assist the president and in her 
absence perform her duties, and shall suc- 


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ceed to her office in case of death, resigna¬ 
tion or removal. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the secre¬ 
tary to record the proceedings of the depart¬ 
ment in convention assembled and of the 
department executive committee, and to keep 
a register of the members of the department, 
embracing the material facts relating to 
their membership; and to keep in books pro¬ 
vided for that purpose: 

(1) The constitution and by-laws, rules 
and regulations of the department. 

(2) Copies of all official letters. 

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the ser¬ 
geant-at-arms to preserve order at the meet¬ 
ings of the department, as prescribed by the 
president. 

Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the chap¬ 
lain to offer prayer at the opening of each 
day’s business and perform such other du¬ 
ties as the president may direct. 

Sec. 6. The department executive com¬ 
mittee shall exercise the power given to it 
by the constitution. 

Sec. 7. The department executive com¬ 
mittee shall have general supervision and 
control over all property belonging to the 
department. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Any officer who shall neglect or improp¬ 
erly perform the duties incumbent upon 
her shall be expelled by a vote of three- 
fourths of the members of the committee 
present. 

ARTICLE V. 

The by-laws of the Kansas department 
of the Women’s Auxiliary of The American 
Legion may be amended by a two-thirds 
vote of the delegates present, providing same 
constitutes a quorum in any annual depart¬ 
ment convention. 


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